Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Continued escalation across the Israel-Lebanon Blue Line, and its impact upon communities on both sides of the border is deeply concerning. The Government of Lebanon has cited its commitment to freedom of religion. We encourage Lebanon to meet its international obligations and uphold the values of equality and religious coexistence that are enshrined in its national laws. The UK Government remains steadfast in its commitment to promoting and protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief globally.

We are horrified by repeated reports of mass casualty incidents in Gaza, with desperate civilians killed when trying to access aid. The UK calls for urgent investigations to establish what has happened and to ensure accountability. We have been clear that the Government of Israel must allow the full and unhindered resumption of aid into Gaza and facilitate the UN and aid partners to deliver aid safely and with dignity to Gazans wherever they are.

The intelligence agencies, as with any arm to the Civil Service, must take any decisions seeking to improve the diversity of their workforce in-line with UK law and in adherence with the relevant measures of the Equalities Act 2010. These measures permit employers to take specific actions to enable or encourage those with protected characteristics to apply for particular roles. Such action is considered lawful and includes both individuals from White minority backgrounds, those from socially or economically underrepresented groups and those from an ethnic minority background.

We continue to highlight Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) violations and abuses on the international stage, through our position at the UN, G7 and as an active member of the Article 18 Alliance, ensuring joint international action on FoRB, including with our European partners.

The UK Special Envoy on FoRB has visited the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva twice this year, taking part in an interactive dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur for FoRB in June and speaking at a UK-hosted event on Tibetan Buddhism in July, which several European partners co-sponsored.

On 8 July, the Minister for Africa and the Special Envoy publicly set out the Government's approach to FoRB, providing a framework for UK engagement, at an event attended by over 100 stakeholders, including representatives of the European diplomatic community.

Czechia is a steadfast bilateral and NATO Ally of the United Kingdom. We enjoy strong cooperation across key areas including Russia/Ukraine, Security, Defence and Growth. In 2022, we signed a Statement of Intent committing us to closer bilateral cooperation. The Delivery Plan under the Statement was updated in November 2024 ahead of the Foreign Secretary hosting FM Lipavsky. The Prime Minister hosted his Czech counterpart in London this July to sign a memorandum of understanding on civil nuclear cooperation, to celebrate Czechia's selection of Rolls Royce SMR as a primary growth opportunity and to host prominent Czech investors at a business roundtable. I also attended the GLOBSEC defence and security forum in Prague in September 2024, Minister Thomas-Symonds attended this forum in June. During these visits we met various Czech interlocutors, including FM Lipavsky, DFM Marian and President Pavel.

The UK and Liechtenstein have a strong bilateral relationship focussed on trade and working together at multilateral institutions. Our non-resident Ambassador visited last month meeting the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. We remain committed to maintaining our strong diplomatic and economic ties.

The UK has a good relationship with San Marino founded on shared values and interests which we promote bilaterally and through our common membership of multilateral fora. Earlier this year our Ambassador to Italy and San Marino led a senior Embassy delegation to San Marino to launch a new UK-San Marino structured bilateral dialogue with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This dialogue focusses on important areas of co-operation such as foreign and security policy and growth, and builds on our existing Memorandum of Understanding on Bilateral Cooperation to further strengthen diplomatic relations.

Romania is a vital bilateral and NATO partner for the United Kingdom, including on tackling the threat posed by Russia, supporting Ukraine, and addressing serious organised crime. In 2023, we signed a Strategic Partnership and held the inaugural Strategic Dialogue committing us to further cooperation across geopolitics, energy security, trade and people-to-people links. We plan to hold the next dialogue later this year. In November 2024, the Prime Minister hosted his counterpart in London where we signed a new defence treaty and double taxation agreement. The Prime Minister also met the newly elected President Dan at the NATO Summit in June. The Foreign Secretary and I have also engaged our counterparts several times in the last year, discussing the breadth of our bilateral relationship.

The UK is building a modern and forward-looking partnership with Serbia. In April, the Foreign Secretary visited Serbia and signed three Memorandums of Understanding, on migration and cyber cooperation, and on UK Export Finance. On 17 and 18 July the Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Dame Karen Pierce, visited Serbia to underline the importance of Serbia playing a constructive role in regional stability. I visited Belgrade in January 2025 and met with President Vučić and Foreign Minister Ðurić. I have spoken with the Foreign Minister and Deputy Foreign Minister on a range of topics. The UK looks forward to hosting Serbia at the Berlin Process Summit this autumn which will strengthen co-operation on our common security and economic growth objectives, including tackling irregular migration and serious organised crime.

The UK and Malta share a historic relationship. The UK and Malta cooperate closely on foreign policy, military training, rule of law, regional security, irregular migration, climate change and consular services. The UK Government engages regularly with Malta at Ministerial level to progress this cooperation. In July 2024, the Prime Minister met Prime Minister Abela at the European Political Community (EPC) Summit. In October 2024, the Foreign Secretary met Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Dr Ian Borg at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) and I spoke with him in discussions on a range of matters. Since then, my department has continued engaging with Malta at official level to progress cooperation in areas of mutual interest.

Croatia is a valued partner of the United Kingdom, both bilaterally and as a NATO Ally. In 2022 we signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement, covering defence cooperation, and in 2023 a Joint Declaration on Bilateral Cooperation, which committed us to working together on shared priorities, from support to Ukraine, scientific collaboration, clean energy, to tackling irregular migration through the Western Balkans route. We also hold annual joint military exercises, and over 800,000 British tourists visit every year, strengthening our people-to-people links. Our Foreign Secretaries last met in London in March, and our Prime Ministers met in May at the European Political Community summit in Tirana. I last held a strategic dialogue with my counterpart in November 2024. This meeting deepened our shared understanding and cooperation on our priority issues.

The UK government has a strong bilateral relationship with our NATO ally Luxembourg, underpinned by a bilateral framework agreement which spans a wide range of common interests, including defence, financial services, energy security, human rights and tackling climate change. The Foreign Secretary hosted Deputy Prime Minister Xavier Bettel on 10 February in London where discussions included deepening our cooperation to intensify pressure on Russia and reinforce support for Ukraine.

The UK maintains strong and enduring ties with Austria. A Joint Vision Statement was signed in 2023 to deepen cooperation across foreign and security policy, on economic issues and in encouraging people-to-people links. Consultations between the UK and Austria on the Vision Statement are held annually, with the last such meeting held in June 2025. Cooperation on migration and security has also been formalised over the last two years, including following up on the Joint Statement on tackling illegal migration in May 2024. The Prime Minister wrote to his opposite Chancellor Stocker on his appointment in March 2025, the Foreign Secretary spoke to Foreign Minister Meinl-Reisinger in March and I engaged Europe Minister Plakolm in May.

The UK maintains strong and enduring ties with Latvia across a broad range of bilateral files. We work closely together as North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) allies, and are deepening cooperation at the United Nations as Latvia prepares to join the Security Council for the first time in 2026-27. The Prime Minister met Prime Minister Siliņa in Oslo in May at the JEF Leaders Summit, and the Minister for the Cabinet Office met Foreign Minister Braže in March. I hosted State Secretary Viļumsons in March.

The UK maintains strong and enduring ties with Lithuania across a broad range of bilateral files. We work closely together as North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) allies. The Prime Minister met President Nausėda in Oslo in May at the JEF Leaders Summit, and the Foreign Secretary hosted Foreign Minister Budrys in London in March. I also hosted Foreign Minister Budrys in March.

I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member's correspondence. I issued a response to the hon. Member on 21 July.

The UK and Switzerland enjoy a close and dynamic relationship underpinned by our democratic traditions, our shared values and our strong commitment to innovation and to science and technology. The Foreign Secretary met with the Swiss Foreign Minister in Kuala Lumpur on 11 July and will meet again soon to discuss our priorities on Russia/Ukraine, Iran and the Middle East, European Security, growth and partnering on illicit finance and fighting corruption.

The UK-Greece relationship is strong and deep across many shared interests. From our work together in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), to tackling shared the challenge of migration, to joint efforts to resolve and deescalate the crisis in the Middle East and war in Ukraine.

The UK and Greece signed a Strategic Bilateral Framework in 2021 to strengthen cooperation in twelve areas including foreign policy, defence, trade, migration and maritime security. The Government has engaged with Greece regularly at leader and Foreign Ministerial level to progress this cooperation. I met with my counterpart, Minister Papadopoulou, most recently through a productive bilateral meeting in New York in the margins of Cyprus 5+1 talks, where we discussed cooperation as co-guarantor powers on Cyprus, and as NATO allies in supporting Ukraine. I also met Foreign Minister Gerapetritis.

The UK has a strong and enduring relationship with its close neighbour and North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally, Belgium. The strength of this relationship was reaffirmed by the visit of Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prévot on 2 July to London where he met the Foreign Secretary, the Minister for the Cabinet Office and the Minister for Africa. We are deepening our foreign policy collaboration to intensify pressure on Russia, reinforce our support for Ukraine, promote peace and stability in the Middle East and Central Africa, tackle irregular migration, increase law enforcement cooperation and promote economic growth.

The UK maintains a strong relationship with Montenegro. We work closely together bilaterally as North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies and look forward to hosting the Government of Montenegro this autumn at the Berlin Process summit. On 28 May we signed a Joint Declaration on a Strategic Partnership between Montenegro and the UK. This Declaration enhances future cooperation between the two countries across a wide range of areas, including security, serious and organised crime, economic development, the rule of law, migration, education, and culture. In May the UK Special Envoy to the Western Balkans, Karen Pierce, visited Montenegro. The Permanent Under Secretary of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and I also visited Montenegro this year to further our bilateral relationship.

Hungary is an important partner and North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally of the United Kingdom, and where there is mutual benefit we work together on shared interests, including on trade, security and defence. As in any bilateral relationship there are differences and where we have concerns, we raise them candidly, including on restrictions on essential freedoms, including respect for and freedoms for the LGBT+ community, and on our differing approaches to Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. The Government maintains regular dialogue with its Hungarian counterparts. The Foreign Secretary hosted Foreign Minister Szijjártó in London for bilateral talks in January, and I am also in regular contact with EU Minister János Bóka and Deputy Foreign Minister Levente Magyar, whom I met in London on 19 June.

The UK maintains strong and enduring ties with Iceland across a broad range of bilateral files. We work closely together as North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) allies. Most recently, the Foreign Secretary visited Iceland on 29 May and had a bilateral with Foreign Minister Gunnarsdóttir at Keflavik Air Base. I also visited Iceland for the Arctic Circle Assembly in October 2024 and delivered a speech on the UK's commitment to the Arctic in the face of global challenges. The annual UK-Iceland Diplomatic Consultations were held at official level in London in April 2025.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is actively reviewing the medals available in the Overseas Territories, compared to those available in the UK.

The UK has a close bilateral partnership with Albania as a likeminded North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally. The Prime Minister visited Albania on 15 May and agreed an updated strategic partnership to strengthen cooperation on defence and security, justice, culture and economic growth. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's Permanent Under-Secretary visited Albania on 16 and 17 July to further bilateral relations, advance UK growth objectives and support continuing joint operational collaboration to tackle the shared challenge of organised immigration crime. The Foreign Secretary and I have met on a number of times with Foreign Minister Hasani in the last year to discuss shared priorities. The UK looks forward to hosting Albania at the Berlin Process Summit this autumn.

To fund a necessary increase in defence spending, the Government has taken the decision to reduce our Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget to 0.3% of Gross National Income (GNI) by 2027. This reflects the world we live in and the threats our country faces and to maintain economic stability - the foundation of this Government's Plan for Change.

Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is a top priority for the UK Government and is vital also for protecting our NHS. The UK played a key role in securing an action-oriented Political Declaration from the UN High Level Meeting on AMR last September, including on the importance of strengthening multisectoral surveillance.

The UK is working with our partners to drive robust implementation of the commitments from the Political Declaration. Regarding specific UK funding in light of the upcoming conclusion of the work of the Fleming Fund in its current form we are currently working through detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used in future years, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.

The UK has committed £25 million to the Pandemic Fund. We remain committed to building pandemic prevention, preparedness and response capacity and capability in developing countries, including through our other multilateral investments and diplomatic engagement.

We are currently working through detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used in future years, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.

The UK recognises the role that surveillance laboratories play in early detection and response to infectious disease threats. We are currently working through detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used in future years, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.

To fund a necessary increase in defence spending, the government has taken the decision in the current fiscal and economic circumstances to reduce our Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget.

The impacts of reductions are being worked through, informed by equality impact assessments. Inevitably, reducing our ODA spend means that for some countries and themes there will be less to spend.

However, we are committed to transforming how we work in partnership with countries and organisations on development, reflecting the changing needs of our partners through four essential shifts. This includes moving from international intervention to local provision, working through local partners and civil society to deliver sustainable, locally-led solutions.

The UK remains committed to tackling global health challenges and will continue to work with all international partners towards the collective goal of a healthier, safer and more prosperous world. Over the coming months, we will work through decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used, and the impact on specific programmes, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments.

The UK maintains a strong relationship with North Macedonia. We work closely together bilaterally as North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies and look forward to hosting the government of North Macedonia this autumn at the Berlin Process summit. On 16 May we announced a new bilateral strategic partnership supporting closer co-operation on areas including economic growth, defence and security and tackling irregular migration. On 22 May, the UK and North Macedonia signed a landmark Government-to-Government Partnership, unlocking up to £5 billion in UK Export Finance support for infrastructure projects. The Prime Minister met Prime Minister Mickoski in May. The Foreign Secretary met with Foreign Minister Mucunski in July.

The UK enjoys positive relations with Monaco. Officials regularly engage with the Monegasque Government, including recently at the Blue Economic Finance Forum on 8 June, attended by Ruth Davis, the UK Special Representative for Nature. Our Ambassador to France is also responsible for relations with Monaco with an Honorary Consul based in the Principality. The Prime Minister and Prince Albert both attended the last meeting of the European Political Community in Tirana.

We remain committed to strengthening health systems through a Primary Health Care approach that includes nutrition. We continue to support integrating nutrition into other sector investments, with the Global Compact on Nutrition Integration an important mechanism in achieving this. Over the coming months, we will work through detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used from 26/27 onwards, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.

At the Gavi Summit on 25 June 2025, the Foreign Secretary announced an additional £1.25 billion investment in Gavi for 2026 - 2030. This commitment will help support Gavi to partner with countries to immunise up to 500 million more children and save up to 8 million more lives through a primary health care approach. We are currently working through how best to allocate our new funding across the 5-year period.

Long-acting technologies could be game-changers in the global response to HIV, but only if they reach the countries and communities that need them most, including young women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa and the most vulnerable and marginalised groups everywhere. Promoting choice is an important element of this.

We welcome the latest World Health Organisation guidelines announced this week recommending lenacapavir as an additional long-acting HIV prevention tool and long-acting cabotegravir and rilpivirine for long-acting HIV treatment. The UK continues to work closely with global partners to address regulatory, manufacturing, and affordability barriers to improve access to these technologies for those most at risk. This includes our support to Unitaid, the Global Fund, and towards research and development of the dapivirine ring.

Long-acting technologies could be game-changers in the global response to HIV, but only if they reach the countries and communities that need them most, including young women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa and the most vulnerable and marginalised groups everywhere. Promoting choice is an important element of this.

We welcome the latest World Health Organisation guidelines announced this week recommending lenacapavir as an additional long-acting HIV prevention tool and long-acting cabotegravir and rilpivirine for long-acting HIV treatment. The UK continues to work closely with global partners to address regulatory, manufacturing, and affordability barriers to improve access to these technologies for those most at risk. This includes our support to Unitaid, the Global Fund, and towards research and development of the dapivirine ring.

Long-acting technologies could be game-changers in the global response to HIV, but only if they reach the countries and communities that need them most, including young women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa and the most vulnerable and marginalised groups everywhere. Promoting choice is an important element of this.

We welcome the latest World Health Organisation guidelines announced this week recommending lenacapavir as an additional long-acting HIV prevention tool and long-acting cabotegravir and rilpivirine for long-acting HIV treatment. The UK continues to work closely with global partners to address regulatory, manufacturing, and affordability barriers to improve access to these technologies for those most at risk. This includes our support to Unitaid, the Global Fund, and towards research and development of the dapivirine ring.

Ministers are unwavering in their commitment to the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda.

A robust governance structure is in place to ensure accountability and transparency in delivery of the WPS National Action Plan (NAP). This includes a commitment to quarterly Cross-Whitehall Working Group meetings with civil society and academics (most recent meeting in April 2025), a biannual Cross-Whitehall Deputy Director Shadow Board (most recent meeting in January 2025), an annual Ministerial Steering Board, and a two-yearly update to the WPS All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG). In June 2025, the Minister for Africa and the Minister for the Armed Forces briefed the WPS APPG on the NAP Annual Report. In addition, Ministers engage regularly with civil society organisations on WPS.

A Ministerial Steering Board will form a part of the process of refreshing the WPS NAP.

The Foreign Secretary has had multiple discussions on sanctions on the International Criminal Count (ICC) with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Successive UK and US administrations have taken a different view on the ICC - for example, the UK are signatories to the Rome Statute, the US are not. We support the independence of the ICC, and do not support sanctioning individual Court officials. The Court must be permitted to do its work, exercising its jurisdiction in line with the Rome Statute, investigating allegations of the international crimes that fall within its remit, and following legal process. These measures will not diminish calls for an end to impunity for the most serious international crimes. We remain fully committed to that goal.

The UK and Ireland are uniquely linked through shared geography and history: we have undergone a reset of our relationship, restoring a partnership of trust. Our relationship continues to go from strength to strength.

This was cemented at the UK-Ireland Summit in March, where the Prime Minister and Taoiseach agreed an ambitious vision for UK-Ireland relations through to 2030, covering areas including growth, security, energy, conflict prevention, cyber, research, and culture, that will bring our two Governments even closer together in delivering for our citizens. The Foreign Secretary visited Dublin in October 2024, spoke to Tánaiste Simon Harris by telephone on 27 January and met him at the G20 summit on 21 February. On 3 July 2025, I met with my counterpart Minister Thomas Byrne in Dublin to discuss further opportunities to enhance UK-Ireland cooperation.

Moldova is a valued partner of the United Kingdom. Since the start of this parliament, we have strengthened our relationship through the conclusion of agreements on defence and security, the mutual recognition of driving licences, and returns. In May, we held the fourth UK-Moldova Strategic Dialogue and an inaugural Illicit Finance Dialogue, reaffirming our commitment to strengthening bilateral relations and enhancing cooperation across key sectors. The UK is providing support to Moldova to tackle foreign interference in the run up to their parliamentary elections. This includes providing election observers, countering disinformation, and addressing the flows of money used for vote-buying and illegal funding of political parties.

In the past year, the Foreign Secretary, the Defence Secretary and I have all visited Moldova. The Prime Minister has met with President Sandu on four occasions, most recently when she visited the UK on 23 July. I met Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Popsoi in Antalya in April to discuss a range of issues.

Slovakia is a valued partner and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally of the United Kingdom, and we work closely on shared priorities, highlighted by our declaration of intent on law enforcement cooperation. As with any bilateral relationship, differences exist, in particular in our respective approaches to Russia and Ukraine. Where we have concerns we address them openly, and the UK Government maintains regular contact with its Slovak counterparts. The Prime Minister recently met President Pellegrini at the NATO Summit in The Hague in June. The Foreign Secretary last engaged with Foreign Minister Blanar in December, and I have held several discussions this year with State Secretary Marek Eštok.

The UK and Andorra have a close bilateral relationship, and celebrated 30 years of diplomatic relations in 2024 with an event where Andorran Prime Minister Espot spoke alongside our Ambassador to Andorra. We agreed a Youth Mobility agreement in 2024, and in February 2025 signed a Double Taxation Agreement which should come into force in 2026. We continue to explore further areas of cooperation.

Slovenia remains a key partner and North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally for the United Kingdom, and we cooperate on many key priorities including Russia-Ukraine and the Western Balkans. We signed a Joint Statement of Intent signed in 2022 and we maintain a yearly Strategic Dialogue with Slovenia, last held on 27 March 2025, which provides an opportunity to discuss a range of bilateral and international priorities. The Foreign Secretary met Foreign Minister Fajon on 21 November 2024 where they discussed the full range of the bilateral relationship. Foreign Minister Fajon also met with the Minister for Africa to discuss UN Security Council cooperation, and with the Minister for the Cabinet Office to discuss the EU reset. This built on my visit to Slovenia for the Bled Strategic Forum in September 2024. I have regularly engaged with and met my counterpart Marko Stucin.

The Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office continues to have regular dialogue with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at all levels, including via our Permanent Mission in Vienna and the Foreign Secretary. The Foreign Secretary last spoke to Director General Grossi on 26 June. We have taken every opportunity, including a public E3 statement on 30 June, to reiterate our support for the Director General and the IAEA's mandate in Iran, urging the Iranians to abide by their legal commitments under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. The IAEA has as yet not been able to report on the state of Iran's nuclear programme following US and Israeli strikes and I will not comment on intelligence matters in this response.

Removing foreign national offenders to their countries of origin is a priority for this Government. We engage frequently with our international partners on the return of those with no right to be in the UK, both at ministerial and official level. In May, the Prime Minister announced an enhanced strategic partnership with Albania including cooperation on migration and justice issues. The Foreign Secretary discussed prisoner transfer and wider criminal justice cooperation with Polish Foreign Minister Sikorski on 19 December 2024. In Romania, Bulgaria, and Lithuania we have strong cooperation across law and justice issues. For example, our Ambassador to Bulgaria discussed Foreign National Offenders with Bulgarian Interior Minister Mitov in June this year. The Foreign Secretary discussed migration cooperation with the Vietnamese Foreign Minister on 11 July 2025.